Portrait

by Samara Joy

Overview

Samara Joy's fourth album, 2024's Portrait, is a lushly rendered octet showcase for the Grammy-winning singer's broad jazz virtuosity. Co-produced by Joy and veteran trumpeter Brian Lynch at New Jersey's legendary Rudy Van Gelder studios, the album finds Joy backed by her touring ensemble, featuring trumpeter Jason Charos, alto saxophonist/flutist David Mason, tenor saxophonist Kendric McCallister, trombonist Donavan Austin, pianist Connor Rohrer, bassist Felix Moseholm, and drummer Evan Sherman. The result is a little big band album in which Joy's shimmering, ascendent vocals are both framed by and nicely integrated into the octet arrangements. As on her past records, she strikes a pleasing balance between warm interpretations of the American Popular Songbook and jazz standards where she adds her own lyrics, transforming the song into something even more her own. While technically proficient, Joy is never too cool. Her voice is warm and enveloping, and cuts like her lilting take on "Autumn Nocturne" find her further coming into her own style while still evoking icons like Sarah Vaughan and Betty Carter. It doesn't hurt that she has surrounded herself with an equally talented band of instrumentalists who get plenty of room to add their own improvisational voices to the proceedings. Often, as in her blissful opening take on "You Stepped Out of a Dream," she sings the main lyric and then blends wordlessly into the band's arrangement, soaring in rich harmony, before letting a soloist take over. Central to the album is her bold reading of Charles Mingus' classic "Reincarnation of a Lovebird," retitled here with the added "(Pursuit of a Dream)." Where the original 1960 version has a swinging, bluesy quality, Joy transforms the song into a Baroque and noirish vocal sculpture. Central to her arrangement is an extended rubato introduction that she sings unaccompanied, her voice a pristine sine wave of linear harmony that builds to a bright falsetto sparking her band's entrance. Jaw-dropping in its sheer artistry, the performance, as with all of Portrait, underscores just how seemingly limitless Samara Joy's skills are. ~ Matt Collar

Product Details

Release Date:	10/11/2024
Label:	Verve
UPC:	0602468013150

Tracks

1. You Stepped Out of a Dream
2. Reincarnation of a Lovebird
3. Autumn Nocturne
4. Peace of Mind/Dreams Come True
5. A Fool in Love (Is Called a Clown)
6. No More Blues
7. Now and Then (In Remembrance Of...)
8. Day by Day

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Samara Joy   Primary Artist,Vocals
Evan Sherman   Drums
Felix Moseholm   Bass
Kendric McCallister   Sax (Tenor)
David Mason   Flute,Sax (Alto)
Donavan Austin   Trombone
Jason Charos   Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Conor Rohrer   Piano

Technical Credits

Kim Gannon   Composer,Lyricist
Josef Myrow   Composer
Axel Stordahl   Composer
Nacio Herb Brown   Composer
Brian Lynch   Producer,Liner Notes
Jacob Lerman   Design,Art Direction
Gus Kahn   Composer,Lyricist
Dave Darlington   Mixing,Mastering
Ken Druker   A&R
Antonio Carlos Jobim   Composer
Barry Harris   Composer
Sun Ra   Composer
Maureen Sickler   Engineer
Sammy Cahn   Composer,Lyricist
Eric Neuser   Producer,Release Coordinator,Production Coordination
Tai Linzie   Art Coordinator
Karen Console   A&R
Evan Sherman   Arranger,Group Member
Felix Moseholm   Group Member
Samara Joy   Composer,Lyricist,Producer,Liner Notes
Emerson Sudbury   A&R
Kendric McCallister   Arranger,Composer,Group Member
David Mason   Arranger,Group Member
Donavan Austin   Arranger,Composer,Group Member
Jason Charos   Arranger,Group Member
Conor Rohrer   Group Member
Dominic Avant   Paintings
Paul Weston   Composer
Jon Hendricks   Lyricist,Composer
Charles Mingus   Composer